Sony President and CEO Kaz Hirai took the stage at the IFA electronics show in Germany today to talk about the company's upcoming products—in addition to a new camera, a 4K TV, and new Windows 8 VAIO PCs (all of which we'll talk about in separate articles later today), the company also announced a new Android tablet and a handful of new Xperia smartphones that will all release between now and the end of the year.

First up is the Xperia Tablet S, a 9.4" Android tablet with a 1280x800 screen; a 1.4GHz NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor; 1GB of RAM; 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB of storage; and an 8-megapixel rear camera and 1-megapixel front camera. Sony's marketing plays up both the tablet's "splash-proof enclosure" that will protect it from water while being used in the kitchen, and the included IR blaster that you can use to control your TV and other set-top boxes—a similar feature was also included in Samsung's recent Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet, among others. Numerous accessories are also available, including stands, covers, keyboards, and covers with keyboards. The Xperia Tablet S will be available on September 7 at a starting price of $400 for the 16GB model, $500 for the 32GB model, or $600 for the 64GB model.

Turning our attention to the smartphones, Sony's new "global flagship phone" is the Xperia T, a 4.6" phone with a 1280x720 display. Its dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 SoC provides UMTS HSPA+ and GSM connectivity as well as Bluetooth 4.0 and dual-band 802.11n support, and its speed should be similar to other high-end Android phones like the Samsung Galaxy S III, the US version of which uses a comparable Snapdragon processor. The phone has a 13-megapixel camera that can shoot 1080p video, a 720p front-facing camera, and its 16GB of internal memory can be augmented with up to 32GB of extra memory via its microSD card slot. NFC capabilities are also included. The unit's 1850mAh battery is said to be good for about seven hours of talk time and five hours of video playback.

The Xperia V is a 4.3", 1280x720 phone that is similar to the T in many ways—it, too includes a dual core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4, Bluetooth 4.0, dual-band WiFi, NFC, and a 13 megapixel camera. The primary difference, aside from the slightly smaller size, is that the Xperia V supports 4G LTE connectivity. The Xperia V also includes a VGA front-facing camera rather than a 720p-capable camera, and 8GB of internal memory instead of 16GB (though it can also be expanded using the microSD card slot). Sony also played up the Xperia V's water resistance, which can reportedly be immersed in up to one meter of water for up to half an hour without suffering any ill effects. Sony says that the 1750mAh battery is good for about seven hours of talk time and four hours of video playback.

Finally, the Xperia J is clearly the entry-level model in the lineup, as shown by its 4" 480x854 screen and 1GHz single-core Snapdragon S1 SoC. The phone also includes WiFi and Bluetooth, GSM and UMTS HSPA connectivity, a five megapixel rear camera and front-facing VGA camera, and 4GB of internal memory that can be upgraded via the microSD slot. The 1750mAh battery is said to be good for five hours and 36 minutes of GSM talk time, seven hours and 18 minutes of UMTS talk time, and eight hours and 30 minutes of video playback.

All of the devices are running Android 4.0, with Jelly Bean upgrades promised "following launch" for the Xperia T, V, and S—the J may also get an upgrade, but it isn't explicitly mentioned. Pricing for the phones is also a mystery, but we should see the Xperia T roll out over "the next few weeks" with the Xperia V and J to follow in Q4 2012. The full press release can be found here.

44 Reader Comments

All of the devices are running Android 4.0, with Ice Cream Sandwich upgrades promised "following launch" for the Xperia T, V, and S—the J may also get an upgrade, but it isn't explicitly mentioned.

Presumably this should read Jelly Bean?

Bizarrely Sony are turning out to be one of the more community-friendly handset makers at the moment, so it will interesting to see how well these do...at leat they don't look to be butchering the ICS interface like Samsung and (to a lesser extent) HTC.

Jesus, don't any of these OEMs even try anymore? Did the last paragraph mean "Jelly Bean upgrades?" Because if they're running 4.0.1 and promising upgrades to, say, 4.0.4, then that's even more pathetic.

Jesus, don't any of these OEMs even try anymore? Did the last paragraph mean "Jelly Bean upgrades?" Because if they're running 4.0.1 and promising upgrades to, say, 4.0.4, then that's even more pathetic.

Jesus, don't any of these OEMs even try anymore? Did the last paragraph mean "Jelly Bean upgrades?" Because if they're running 4.0.1 and promising upgrades to, say, 4.0.4, then that's even more pathetic.

Jesus, don't any of these OEMs even try anymore? Did the last paragraph mean "Jelly Bean upgrades?" Because if they're running 4.0.1 and promising upgrades to, say, 4.0.4, then that's even more pathetic.

Agreed -- pathetic. Some companies are amazing at the number of upgrades they give (my Asus Transformer came with Honeycomb, then it got ICS, and soon it's getting Jelly Bean), and some are brutal and you're stuck with what the device ships with (I'm looking at you Samsung). To me it's a great indicator on who's devices I should purchase and who's I should mock.

I'm looking forward to reading the reviews of these. Unlike the Samsungs, they look to be REALLY well built. The design is also really beautiful - the only problem that I see is that the Sony logo is too close to the ear speaker on the T, which somewhat clutters the beautiful blackness of the device. I love the bevels on the T and J - really tastefully done. The V is a little too iPhone-like.

a starting price of $400 for the 16GB model, $500 for the 32GB model, or $600 for the 64GB model.

Some people never learn. Android tablets that try to go head-to-head with the iPad on price will fail. Those with $400 to spend will get an iPad2.

It's not true for every case, but you're right. The thing about the Apple product is that its purchase is a statement in and of itself, regardless of usability or function. I'd still rather buy a surface pro or something, myself. Loving the nexus 7. My iPad 2 is gathering dust...

a starting price of $400 for the 16GB model, $500 for the 32GB model, or $600 for the 64GB model.

Some people never learn. Android tablets that try to go head-to-head with the iPad on price will fail. Those with $400 to spend will get an iPad2.

I didn't, I went with Asus (which already upgraded to JB).. and might have gone with this if it had been available (have a PS3 and Bravia LED), really like the design, great fit in hand, IR blaster too, just the last model lacked a decent processor..

the widgets and flexibility of Android are even better with the extra real estate, minor trade off is the occasional lag or pop-up when quickly hitting home out of an intensive app or doing some heavy multitasking and not as many tablet optimized apps (only three I use regularly aren't)..

Plus I can pop in my SD card with my Blu-Ray movie rips and watch those anywhere..

Also, really like the look of the phones, will be nice having another option to go along with the nexi (if these multiple new Nexus phones rumor is true) when I'm ready to upgrade (seeing as they're headed toward ASOP).. any word on what price point they might hit?

I am trying to understand why they went with the dual-core processor on the T. If they were looking to make this thing work on 3G and 4GLTE networks that would be one thing, but it does not. If I am going to buy a flagship international phone I would pick the Galaxy S3 over the T. When comparing the US Galaxy S3 to the V, they both are on equal ground with the processing power and 4G LTE capabilities, but the S3 pulls ahead once again with twice the RAM (2GB vs 1GB). If they can offer it cheaper, fine. But if it is anywhere near the same cost I can't see the benefit of buying a Sony product (lol are there ever?) which is not guaranteed to even upgrade to JellyBean. Again I would pick the S3 over the V. Better yet, I would wait until the Fall announcements of pending Nexus devices to actually make any decisions since it is rumored there are quite a few in the works right now.

I do, however, like the water-resistance claim ... do they back that up with any warranty? And if so, are the carriers on-board with it or is that strictly through manufacturer? Hopefully the latter, else you're getting a refurbished P.O.S.

Also, really like the look of the phones, will be nice having another option to go along with the nexi (if these multiple new Nexus phones rumor is true) when I'm ready to upgrade (seeing as they're headed toward ASOP).. any word on what price point they might hit?

Yeah, I'm really digging their new look phones. Hopefully these will be on sale unlocked like the current xperias.

Hm, another 1280x720 phone with 4.3" screen. After having that on my HTC Rezound, that's exactly what I want on my future phones. 4.3" is already at the border in usability due to its huge size, and it's hard to get 720p on a smaller screen. And it has the best PPI of any smartphone, AFAIK - higher than Apple's "retina" displays. And that water resistance is a huge feature that I'd love to see everyone adopt.

The phones? They look like nice additions to the selection for phone buyers. The water resistant feature OOB is a pretty cool feature.

As for the comment someone would just buy an iPad, I wouldn't. Just because *you* would doesn't mean *everyone* wants one. I wouldn't own one if you gave it to me for free because I have no desire to play mother-may-I with iTunes constantly. (I have one for work to test web sites; the iPad is just plain annoying and cumbersome to me.)

The Xperia T looks amazing. If Apple doesn't wow with the iPhone5 that might be my next phone. Being almost a cm shorter than the gargantuan Samsung S3 wouldn't hurt as well. Now lets see if the plastic is as fragile as the one on their last xperia generation.

Jesus, don't any of these OEMs even try anymore? Did the last paragraph mean "Jelly Bean upgrades?" Because if they're running 4.0.1 and promising upgrades to, say, 4.0.4, then that's even more pathetic.

Agreed. Why is the mod community SO much faster than the OEMs?

Because OEM updates have to go through regulatory (and, in the case of branded phones, carrier) approvals, as well as usability testing (since their ROMs are targeting general end-users and not enthusiasts). Community ROMs don't.

a starting price of $400 for the 16GB model, $500 for the 32GB model, or $600 for the 64GB model.

Some people never learn. Android tablets that try to go head-to-head with the iPad on price will fail. Those with $400 to spend will get an iPad2.

I wouldn't.

I would agree with the original poster. Until I had my Nexus. Its actually a better OS than iOS( IMO). Some minor niggles and iTunes, better Appstore, etc. are still big points in Apples favor. But the days when iOS was clearly better are over. (Unless they do something REALLY fantastic in the next version) Although I doubt it. First they need to play catchup to the more flexible resolution support of android.

a starting price of $400 for the 16GB model, $500 for the 32GB model, or $600 for the 64GB model.

Some people never learn. Android tablets that try to go head-to-head with the iPad on price will fail. Those with $400 to spend will get an iPad2.

...but will realize in the end that they should just have invested the money in a good Ultrabook

/coming from an iPad 1 owner who just sold his 800€ device over the lack of further support from Apple, unstable software and absolutely horrible experience as the main working device at university.

I seriously think, the only reason why iPads sell is because they are an Apple product. The tablet market is actually non existing except of the hipsters that need Apple products. I hope that bubble bursts soon.

Plus I can pop in my SD card with my Blu-Ray movie rips and watch those anywhere..

For non-geeks I feel like this is such an outmoded use case.

That said I like the design of these and I loved my first Sony Ericsson phone (color LCD!!!). I need iOS though so I guess I'm stuck.

agreed, almost left it off.. but I find it an added bonus over other tablets for those able to take advantage and figured it was worth the mention.. for a casual user it does offer a cheap way to expand your memory capacity or load photos from your camera?

a starting price of $400 for the 16GB model, $500 for the 32GB model, or $600 for the 64GB model.

Some people never learn. Android tablets that try to go head-to-head with the iPad on price will fail. Those with $400 to spend will get an iPad2.

...but will realize in the end that they should just have invested the money in a good Ultrabook

/coming from an iPad 1 owner who just sold his 800€ device over the lack of further support from Apple, unstable software and absolutely horrible experience as the main working device at university.

I seriously think, the only reason why iPads sell is because they are an Apple product. The tablet market is actually non existing except of the hipsters that need Apple products. I hope that bubble bursts soon.

So you bought an iPad, tried to use it for things it wasn't really designed to do, and as a result you think that only 'hipsters' are buying iPads?

a starting price of $400 for the 16GB model, $500 for the 32GB model, or $600 for the 64GB model.

Some people never learn. Android tablets that try to go head-to-head with the iPad on price will fail. Those with $400 to spend will get an iPad2.

I wouldn't.

I would agree with the original poster. Until I had my Nexus. Its actually a better OS than iOS( IMO). Some minor niggles and iTunes, better Appstore, etc. are still big points in Apples favor. But the days when iOS was clearly better are over. (Unless they do something REALLY fantastic in the next version) Although I doubt it. First they need to play catchup to the more flexible resolution support of android.

I have a Nexus 7 as well. It's fantastic, and there's no way I would pour money into a locked-down iOS device that I couldn't control.

But let's face it, at this stage of the game Android tablets need to compete on price to build market-share. We've had 18 months of big-name tablets trying to sell for the same price and they've all flopped.If OEMs want to get people to notice they need to have a stripped down model with a low entry price - a $300 10" tablet with decent core functionality and build quality would turn heads, and (as Google learned when they sold out of the 16GB model) plenty of customers will pay more for an upgraded model once you've got their attention.

and absolutely horrible experience as the main working device at university.

I seriously think, the only reason why iPads sell is because they are an Apple product. The tablet market is actually non existing except of the hipsters that need Apple products. I hope that bubble bursts soon.

Nope tablets are here to stay. But nobody uses it as a "main working device" iPads are awesome for media consumption or browsing or emails from the couch or in a train or bus or airplane (or from any other place for that matter). For most consumers this may even be enough.

But if you expected a full Notebook replacement that no an iPad wouldn't be for you.

Hm, another 1280x720 phone with 4.3" screen. After having that on my HTC Rezound, that's exactly what I want on my future phones. 4.3" is already at the border in usability due to its huge size, and it's hard to get 720p on a smaller screen. And it has the best PPI of any smartphone, AFAIK - higher than Apple's "retina" displays. And that water resistance is a huge feature that I'd love to see everyone adopt.

Of course, I doubt it'll come to Verizon...

Getting tired of the lack of ability to pick and choose your phone with Verizon. I keep hoping they'll add a more phone options but every time I check it all looks the same.

Bizarrely Sony are turning out to be one of the more community-friendly handset makers at the moment, so it will interesting to see how well these do...at leat they don't look to be butchering the ICS interface like Samsung and (to a lesser extent) HTC.

This is not "bizarre" if you were a Sony Ericsson fan as this is the long-standing Sony Ericsson heritage seeping through and influencing the wider Sony mega-corporation.

If Sony can manage to release these with Jelly Bean and no proprietary UI on top (a la Nexus), I may actually like Sony again.

All Sony phones have unlockable bootloaders and they have a good record at releasing open drivers, so you're virtually guaranteed to be able to install raw AOSP (or Cyanogenmod etc.) yourself. The recent news from Google in supporting the Xperia S directly in AOSP hint that we may be moving towards a more modular driver model for Android.